Aqua Amor
by LadyReaper1992
Summary: Basically, the male avengers are mermen who were once human, but as the result of an insult to a goddess, they were cursed to be mermen until they could find their mates. when they do find their mates (That's where the women and me oc come in!), they need to court them and eventually, "Make love" with them in order to be human again! suspense/romance/angst
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! This is another story that i came up with during the finishing touches of "The King of Mischief and his Queen" (don't get yourselves into knots, there will be a sequel for it!), and I would say that it's suspense/romance/angst, not really sure! The vacation that i describe here is what i actually did back in December 2011 from Christmas to new years**

**Disclaimer: don't own the marvel characters or Carnival cruise lines, just my OC **

Chapter 1: redeem us from our solemn hour*

"Hey, why don't you sit over here, Natasha?" I asked as she was getting her lunch from the mermaid grill. My name is Alice Valentine Donovan. I'm 23 years old and I am on vacation with my friends on a cruise to the Bahamas. Natasha and I have been friends for some number of years and we met while she was on a beach, I was waiting for an old friend of mine from high school and she somehow came over and we started talking. Eventually she offered me a job at an agency called SHEILD and I took the opportunity. I worked with shield for a number of years and eventually, they allowed us some vacation time along with many of our friends, including Jane Foster, a scientist, or an astrophysicist to be specific, Pepper Potts, Darcy Lewis, Betty Ross, and we decided to go on a carnival cruise. It was called the carnival 'Pride'. We had some fun on it, including having dinner at a restaurant that was below our deck floor, singing karaoke at the butterfly lounge and starry night café. Natasha sat down at a table on the lido deck and we just observed the majesty of the ocean. "And they said that it was dangerous for women to be out in the ocean because of mating season for mermen. There's no such thing as mermen, its part of mythology!" Natasha scoffed. I remembered people talking about how it was dangerous for women to be out on the ocean for the first 6 months due to the mating season of the mermen. I studied some things on mermen prior to going on this vacation: From January to the end of June, mating season would be upon them, and they would need to find their mate and claim her before the end of June. They first claim their mates by biting them on the neck, like a damn vampire, then taking to a place where it would be free of people, and after caring for and wooing their mates, they make love with them, sealing the mating bond between merman and mate. Natasha thought that it was silly when I told her about this. But I remembered that we took a vacation on the end of April and early May, so we had to be vigilant. Pepper and Darcy came to the table with their food and we started talking about the 'mythical creatures' that were the mermen.

* * *

After we talked and ate for a while, Natasha decided to do a wine tasting on the ship, Pepper decided to look around, and I decided to go to the Poseidon deck to kind of relax in the sun, as I was sitting there, I noticed a man looking at the sun, a very beautiful one at that. He had a pair of shorts on and was catching some rays, looking relaxed, and when he got up, he looked to be maybe 6'2 or 6'3, skin white as snow, hair black as the night sky that went to his shoulders, and he caught me staring at him, and he had the most gorgeous green eyes that I had ever seen in my life and a face that looked like an angel sculpted his face and body, looking slender, yet showing some muscle. I looked down embarrassed that he caught me staring at him, and he just smiled warmly at me and walked along his way down a staircase. "Who was that man? I've never seen _him _around before." I said to myself as I continued to look around the ocean. I decided to get some ice cream when I bumped into Jane, who said she had seen someone strange, yet, beautiful on the ship. I mentioned that I saw someone too and she didn't remember seeing him on the ship before, leading to the fact that something strange was going on, and I remembered that it was still mating season for the mermen, but they couldn't _possibly_ be on the ship, they only were in water, so that set my senses to red alert for a little bit, so we got our ice cream and went to find the others, who were in the casino gambling. I wasn't much of a gambler, but that didn't mean that I wasn't going to have fun with the slots. Natasha was watching Pepper play on the cat's slots while Darcy was playing blackjack.

Tony POV

I watched the woman play on the slot machines with the red head watching, and she was beautiful! Thor and Loki told me that they had found their mates by their scent, and I was happy for them that they were going to be human again. We all were human once, and from what Thor and Loki told me along with the others, someone was stupid enough to insult a goddess, and as punishment, we were turned into mermen and forced to live underwater for some time, but over the course of centuries, we found that we could be on human land again, but sometimes, we needed to be back underwater within the few days we would have. Mating season for us had been terrible, not finding the mates that our instincts guided us to. I remembered when Steve found his mate. It was joyous for all of us because one of us would finally grow old and die all while cherishing his mate and offspring. I looked at mine, and she smelled _divine! _Like the sweetest of flowers and fruit rolled into a woman who would be perfect for me and would have my offspring. My instincts screamed for me to take her, but I, like my other companions, needed to be patient with the timing. Loki walked up to me and sat on a chair next to me, ordering a martini. "Do you see that woman over there, my mate, the one who will bear my children?" he asked as he pointed out his mate, who was standing next to another woman who had dark blonde hair and wore a shirt that showed off the form of her chest perfectly. "Yeah, I see her, she's pretty." I said. Loki looked at me like a said an insult to him. "Pretty is an _insult, a mockery_ compared to her beauty. I feel a need to claim her, but we need to be flawless with the timing." He said noticing something growing in his pants. He was right about that, we needed to be flawless with the timing, especially with people around us, oblivious to what we are.

* * *

Alice POV

We went on like this throughout a few minutes of playing, until we decided to go to our staterooms and dress up for dinner, which called for formal clothes. I decided to wear a black short-sleeved button down blouse with a skirt and tights along with a pair of shoes that were not really heels but made me a little taller. Natasha looked beautiful in a black dress that had been but at the waist, showing off her thighs perfectly. Jane had her hair in a bun that nearly went to the top of her head, while wearing a dress that would have even actresses and other women green with envy. Betty and Darcy came up to us wearing blouses and dress pants, and Pepper wore a dress that didn't have a back, and we were ready for dinner. We got to a restaurant that had been two floors down from our staterooms and sat down at our table, waiting for our waiter to get here and take our orders. Natasha and I had tea while Darcy had ordered a martini and Pepper and Betty had water. I looked around to see who was there, I saw a few families, some couples, and I saw the man from the Poseidon deck earlier and he was with a few other guys at another table. Natasha noticed this and tapped me on the shoulder. "I have seen the guy with the sandy blonde hair, really cute, but it feels weird when he watches me, as if he wants to eat me or something like that." She said shuddering. The guy I had seen on the Poseidon deck looked at me again and just looked at me like he had never seen another woman before and then looked as if he was sick. 'I wonder what's wrong with him.' I thought to myself as our main dishes came. We ate for a while and we decided to change clothes and catch a show at the Taj Mahal theatre, and the show had to do with music throughout the years, and the girls cheered when it came to the part with the 'macho macho man' song that I thought was from the 70's. As we were walking to the Da Vinci on the ship after the show, it was dark outside, so we watched the night sky for a little bit.

Loki POV

I saw my mate just sitting there, looking out the window in the night sky; I was dazzled by her scent. The smell of roses, chocolate and pure jasmine made up the scents of my mate. She looked lonely just sitting there. It made me sad that she was feeling this way, but I needed to control my inner instincts in order for me to not scare her. "Hey Loki, gazing at your mate, are you?" Bruce asked. "Yes, it's taking every ounce of strength in me not to claim her as my own, we need to take our mates, we can't waste another mating season just standing there gazing at them." I said. I lived longer than anyone else, being maybe 1049 years old, Thor was even older than I was, but we stuck together until we could find other mermen like us. "Don't worry buddy, we all thought about claiming them, and trust me, we all want to get this over with, try and wait maybe a few more minutes, then we can claim them, but not without something happening on the ship, say, the lights go out?" Bruce said. Because we were mermen, we had powers to manipulate electricity, so I smiled knowing that it was time to claim them, but we needed the lights off in order to do so. 'Whoever you are my mate, know that I will have you and no one else will grace my eyes.' I vowed as my mate left with her friends.

* * *

Third person POV

As they were going upstairs to take some pictures, with Darcy and Jane looking pretty with the photos, and the other guests just mingling around on the ship, all of the lights suddenly went out on the whole ship, causing some guests to scream and gasp in surprise. Little children were crying over being in the dark and some people were annoyed that it was happening, so the crew offered to have flashlights ready for the guests to take with them to make sure they knew where they were going as the emergency lights came on.

* * *

Alice POV

It was weird that all of a sudden the lights went out on the ship, but I hoped that they would get the lights back on in time for the other events to come on without any hitches. "Well, this is _somewhat _eventful!" Pepper said annoyed. Darcy wasn't exactly a fan of being in the dark, so we kept her close to make sure she was safe. We went up to the mermaid grill and waited for when the lights would come back on. "So, quite a vacation, eh?" Jane said with all of us nodding and sighing in agreement. "Not what we all had in mind, but at least its better than sitting in an office all day long, or going to missions nonstop looking for some bad guys to take down." Natasha said adjusting herself on the chair. I agreed with her on that one because we especially went to a mission in Budapest that still had both of us making noises of annoyance about that mission. We then heard some strange growling noises coming from the ship. "What the holy fuck was that?" Darcy asked still scared. "I have no idea. But I know it wasn't my stomach." I said with my senses on red alert over the noises. We heard the growling along with some hissing, and we started getting scared senseless. "Come out whoever you all are! This isn't funny!" Jane shouted hoping that the noises would stop. They didn't stop, it just continued on from there. "Uh, Alice, how long did you say a merman's mating season is supposed to last?" Betty asked frightened out of her wits. Natasha was just about to tell her there was no such things as mermen but I answered for her. "It's supposed to last from January to the end of June, we are near the end of April, and so that means mating season is still on for them. They first claim their mates by biting them on their neck, leaving a mark on them. After some time in a secluded place, they care for and woo their mates until they make love with them, sealing the bond." I said confirming what I was saying as the hissing continued. Natasha was just about to yell at me until I turned my flashlight on to see who or what was making that noise and when I did, it was not a sight I never thought I would see: the dark haired guy from the Poseidon deck and restaurant was looking at me, looking like he was wanting to eat me by baring his teeth, which consisted of fangs, and his eyes looked more lustful and fierce than the peaceful emerald green eyes that I had seen. I looked around more and saw a few more of those men looking us like we were snacks! "We're completely surrounded! How do we get away!?" Jane asked nearly screaming in terror. "We are going to have to run. Wait for my signal and run, no questions, just run." I said, knowing that we were facing the very 'mythological creatures' knowing that we might be dinner. "Ready…" I paused for a moment as the mermen were looking at us. "RUN!" I screamed making a run for it, with the mermen chasing us in pursuit all over the ship. We ran like we were going to die, throwing everything we could at them, trying to slow them down as they were chasing us. I separated from my friends and ran for the Taj Mahal theatre with Jane behind me.

Natasha POV

I had never felt so scared in all of my life. I thought what Alice had said about the men actually being mermen were myth, but as she was telling us, I was near hysterics because what she was saying was actually true. I saw the sandy blonde haired guy behind me and he was still chasing me, the crew members tried to stop him, but he was strong, so to him, they were like obstacles that needed to be in the way. I ran at the shops, hoping to somehow find something to throw at him, I went to a souvenir store and threw some key chains, clothing, everything that I can find at him until as I got to the entrance, he jumped me and I felt a searing pain at my neck and I realized that he was biting me. "What are you!?" I asked in shock and pain from the bite. He lifted his head for a moment and I was too scared to move. "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you, _never_." He vowed as he bit me again, and before I was knocked out, my last thought was this, 'Alice was right, she was fucking right.' And I was out, awaiting my death.

Third person POV

The women were being chased throughout the ship with the mermen in pursuit of them. Betty tried to outrun Bruce who was chasing her, until she came upon a dead end, and he bit her, marking her as his to cherish and care for. Pepper had one chasing her throughout the main floor of the deck, eventually getting to the casino, where she threw the glasses and dice and chairs at him, hoping that it would stagger him long enough to find a crew member to help her. But Tony was too fast for her and as she tried to get away again, Tony had grabbed her foot, making her fall down.

Pepper POV

"Please, don't hurt me, please!" I yelled, nearly going into hysterics because I thought that I was going to die by this handsome man that I had seen in the butterfly lounge before. He looked at me and kissed me where my neck and shoulder were connected. "I won't hurt you, my mate. Try to trust me." He said to me in a reassuring tone. "'Mate?' What are you talking ab-OH, MY GOD! GET OFF!" I screamed as he bit me on my neck hard. "ALICE, WHERE ARE YOU!?" I screamed hoping that she would find me and get me away from him, and I was overjoyed upon seeing her, but I saw that a tall blonde and a dark haired man were both chasing Alice and Jane, and within minutes, I was out.

* * *

Alice POV

I saw Pepper on the casino ground, and although I would've tried to help her, it would've been in vain because by the time we got to her, she was already knocked out cold due to the bite one merman was giving her. "We need to get to the theatre!" Jane shouted as we were heading up some stairs. We got to the theatre and as the other people were getting away from both of the men; a few security people came up and tried to restrain them, only to be knocked down silly by the men. I and Jane went to the stairs to try and get to higher ground just as they were on the stage looking for us, and we were both hiding, trying to keep quiet. "Pepper… what happened to her?" Jane asked her voice cracking and shaking. "Pepper was claimed, I imagine that Natasha might be claimed too, along with Darcy, Betty…" I said solemnly, my throat feeling like I swallowed sand. Jane and I cried silently while trying to be quiet so that the two men couldn't find us. But, something happened, that I never thought could happen: I had felt the urge to sneeze. "Oh, god, not now, not now!" I said to myself, hoping that what was happening would subside long enough for us to get away.

Loki POV

I knew my mate was in this theatre, but where was she? I and Thor looked around the place to make sure they were there for us to finally claim as our own. "Do you see them, Thor?" I demanded. "No, but I smell my mate, they _have _to be in here!" he boomed, knowing that he could smell his mate's scent as I could smell mine. She smelled heavenly, like it was calming me and heating my blood _immensely. _I had to make her mine before it would be too late. Thousands of years passed since being turned into a merman and I was not about to live another thousands of years as a cursed creature! "A-a-a-achoo!" I heard what sounded like my mate sneezing, and I was so stupid not to realize that she was on the upper floor of the theatre. 'Did you think you would hide from me, my mate?' I thought as I felt an evil grin grace my features. "Thor, she's on the upper floor!" I said after hearing her sneeze. "SHIT, RUN!" I heard my mate yelling as she was trying yet again to get away from me, so I used my strength to jump onto the upper floors and stopped my mate and her friend in their tracks.

Alice POV

I saw the man standing in front of me as I skidded and fell to the floor, trying to get away, and as we tried, the big blonde man who was also chasing us was behind us, and even if we could get away, we wouldn't go far. As Jane had hit the blonde man with her purse hard enough to stagger him, she ran with him in pursuit of her and as I tried to get away, the dark haired man caught me from behind, having me fall flat on my face and as he turned me to face him, I got scared of him to death. "Please don't hurt me, please!" I begged hoping that he would let me go. He just stroked my face with his long fingers and pressed some kisses gently on my face. "I won't hurt you, you are my mate, I would rather suffer a thousand tortures than hurt you in any way." He said as if he was afraid of himself. I was at first confused about this, but it took me milliseconds to realize that he was a fucking merman! "Oh, my… you're a mer-OH GOD, NO!" I screamed as he bit me on my neck. The last thing I heard before I was knocked out was Jane's scream, sadly confirming for me that she was claimed by the blonde merman. Oh, god, please help us all, please.

* * *

Third person POV

As the mermen finally had their mates, they all went out to the deck and dove underwater, taking their mates with them. As they got to a far away enough distance, they teleported over somewhere they would tend to their mates, and eventually court them properly. They went to a mansion where it was by the ocean and they took their mates to separate rooms, which in some of them, had pool passages to the ocean. Fandral claimed his mate when she tried to use a beer bottle as a weapon in the Starry night café, but he dodged it and bit her on a table. They all took their mates upstairs to their rooms, getting some cloths and water to clean their bites, which was a first step into their mating.

* * *

Loki POV

I finally had my mate! It was the most intoxicating feeling I ever experienced and never hope to lose again. As I set her gently on my, no _our _bed, I examined my mark, and scolded at myself when I realized that I bit her a little too hard, causing her to bleed a little bit. I grabbed the cloth and went to the bathroom to wet the cloth, grabbing a bottle of rubbing alcohol on the way, and put a little bit of it on the cloth. I put the cloth on the bite and although she winced a little, she was still sleeping peacefully. As I finished, drying the bite with a fresh dry cloth, I took her in my arms, knowing that the safest place for her is in my bed with me, and I hoped that our children would be as beautiful as her, so I rubbed her back in circles, singing in an old norse language that my mother would sing to me before I would sleep better or have my fears gone within minutes. As I was singing, the only thing on my mind was how do I woo her, but I didn't need to worry about it, for right now.

*if anyone can find out what song this lyric is on, who knows, you might get a mention!

**Rate and Review! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, another chapter of this story, fresh from the oven! i hope that this is a good one for you guys! **

**Disclaimer: own nothing except my oc! **

**warning: language! **

Chapter 2: Don't scream anymore my love, cause all I want is you

Bruce POV

This one was beautiful indeed, I didn't know how long I waited, or how many mating seasons had failed, but what mattered to me was that I had my mate in our bed, safe in my arms. I remember when I first saw her, she was swimming in the pool, and I caught her scent. It was like a combination of vanilla, and a hint of cinnamon. She looked at me, and was a little bashful, but it was supposed to be me who was bashful. When I finally took her, I regretted having to go to those kinds of measures, chasing her around the stateroom hallways, throwing stuff at me, and when she went to that wall, I bit her. She screamed, but I told her prior to me continuing to claim her that I would never hurt her in any way at all. I wasn't lying, I wish I could've gotten to know her better prior to the claiming, but I could make amends, I just needed for her to wake up.

Betty POV

The last thing that I remembered before I was unconscious due to the bite was, 'I hope the others are ok, that they are not suffering the same fate as I am.' Before I thought that death would take me, but something told me to wake up, and when I did, I was in a different room, no a different place, I looked around and I noticed someone breathing in my ear. I obviously was freaked out by this and jumped out of bed. "Who are you!?" I demanded. The same guy who I saw at the pool was standing in front of me, getting up and walking towards me. "It's alright, I won't hurt you, I'm Bruce Banner, and you are my mate." he said hoping that it would somehow put me at ease. I was a little confused by what he said at first, but I remembered Alice telling me something about mermen. It took me seconds to realize that I was claimed by a merman. My eyes widened. "Oh, my, you're a merman, my friend was right about this, and I didn't believe her!" I shouted in hysterics hoping that Alice was ok. "If you let me go, I won't press charges against you, please!" I said hoping that he would release me so that I could find my friends and go home. "I…I can't. I'm sorry, I just can't. I'm not losing you, not when I am close to being human once more." He said with his eyes pleading to understand me. "What do you mean 'human once more?' what happened to you?" I asked hoping to get some answers. "Well, I'm actually older than you think, myself and some other men were cursed as a result of someone who insulted a goddess, Hera I think it was, and we were turned into mermen as a result of that kind of thing happening." He explained. I felt bad that this happened because of an insult, but I knew that Hera had a nasty temper in Greek mythology, as explained by Alice. I hoped that Alice was alright. "So, that's what happened, but still, please let me go!" I demanded again. "What's your name?" he asked, completely ignoring my question. "Why do you want to know my name?! You kidnapped me and took me wherever we are, please let me go!" I demanded, nearly going into hysterics. He just walked up to me casually and just as I was about to grab something to hit him with, he kissed me. I didn't know why, but that made my emotions seep away, as if some unused part of my head made my emotions go away. He pulled away and hugged me. "I know that it's not easy, and trust me if I could let you go, I would, but, once the bond starts, there is no breaking it." He said smoothing his hand on my back, and I did feel some sort of bond, but I wouldn't admit it. I let myself answer his question about my name. "My name is Betty Ross, I'm a scientist with SHEILD." I said, hoping for at least that he could know who I am.

* * *

Clint POV

I looked over at my mate as I was getting myself dressed, and I thought her to be a goddess, but I needed to somehow win her trust so that the bond would be established firmly and fully between us, and I hoped that our kids would be like her, strong and stubborn. I hated that she was throwing the trinkets at me in the shops and running away, but she could consider herself lucky because I held back when I first saw her. The wine that passed those red full lips made me want to jump her right there and I didn't give a damn as to who would be watching us. I could tell that she was strong by the way her muscles were defined after seeing her in the gym on the cruise, going onto treadmills, pumping iron, doing the occasional kickboxing, and I could tell that she was stubborn also because she thought that mermen weren't real, oh we're real alright, as real as trees that would stand. As she woke up, I could tell that it wouldn't be pretty at all.

Natasha POV

I was dreaming that I was being killed by the person, who bit me, and showed no mercy. Alice wasn't there, Jane wasn't there, not even Darcy, I hoped that all of them were ok. I woke up to a strange place, and I personally hoped that I was dreaming. "Don't even think of pinching yourself, my mate, you're awake." A sassy voice spoke. I turned and there was the guy who I threw those souvenirs and knick knacks at, and who I saw at the wine tasting. "YOU! Who, what are you?!" I asked getting into my attack position while trying to calm my hysteria down some inches. "I'm Clint, darling mate." He said somewhat gently. "Alice was right, she was right, Alice WHERE ARE YOU!?" I shouted to the ceiling, hoping that somehow I would be answered. "This Alice was right to know what we are; besides, I'm old enough to be your damn forefather. What's your name?" he asked and I could tell that he wanted to make conversation. "Agent Natasha Romanoff of SHEILD." I said, at least allowing him one question answered for right now. "Natasha, such a beautiful name for someone beautiful like yourself." Clint said, trying to humor me. "Oh, stop trying to humor me, release me!" I demanded. Clint just smirked at me. "Sorry kitten, but no can do. If I let you go, I get you back, that's kind of the rule of the bond between both of us, but I hope that you and I can get to know one another well." He said as if I was talking to him about the weather. I could tell it was going to be trying, but I wasn't giving up until myself and my friends were safe on solid land, not with these _things!_

* * *

Darcy POV

I was still fuzzy on what happened last night, but I felt like major crap after the events, the last thing I remembered was being chased down by someone with honey blonde hair while he was battling the security personnel who were trying to restrain him from getting to me, and the first time I saw him, I was just lounging at the pool, doing my thing, when I saw the guy. He was so hot, I wanted to jump his bones right there without hesitation. I got up and I noticed that I was not in my stateroom with Jane. I was in a whole different room somewhere else I think. "Hello? Who's there?" I asked, hoping that someone would answer. "Oh, good. You're up, my beloved." The voice said. I turned and there was the same man who I saw at the pool. "You, who are you?" I asked hoping to have some answers. "I am Fandral. I hope that you could get to know me better." He said. "Hi, Fandral… I'm Darcy and I hope that you don't turn me into your breakfast." I said nervously, looking for something to hit him with.

Fandral POV

It amused me that my mate was looking for something to hit me, but I wouldn't let myself lose my mate, not after I claimed her last night. I just went up to her and as I did come towards her, she grabbed a frying pan, swinging at me with it, until she lost her balance and fell, making it my opportunity to catch her by the waist. This was going to be trying, having my mate love me, but it would be worth it in the end, when we have our bond established and have our offspring born, but I need to woo her, it will be very much worth it in the end, whether we have good times and bad.

* * *

Thor POV

I lay in our bed with my mate, stroking her soft skin with my fingers while holding her in my embrace. I had higher hopes than anyone else that I would be human again with her. Sure back in my days, I had women to fool around with, but I wasn't even urging myself to leave this woman, my intended mate and mother of my children, so small, yet so mighty. She ran from me at the theatre on the ship, but I caught up to her in the end and made her mine, hoping that I would keep her safe, it was my duty, my honor, and now my most vital task that will break this curse of being a sea creature. The day I met my oldest friend Loki, I felt at ease knowing that I was not alone in my quest for mortality. I wanted to grow old and die, with my children marrying and having my grandchildren and so on and so forth. The first time I had seen her, she was playing this mini golf game that people would nowadays play. I was nervous around her, but back in my days as a Viking, women were nervous or excited around me! But I was ready to once again be human, I wouldn't withstand another millennia in the ocean finding another to cherish. She smelled exquisite to me, like fresh snow that falls, it took my breath away the way she looked, but I had to be gentle with her, she's my mate after all. I smiled as she moved in her sleep, aware that she was awake and well.

Jane POV

I heard Alice scream, thinking that she was a goner, I ran as fast as I could to get away, but the blonde man that I had seen caught up with me and put be against the wall, thinking he was going to rape me right there. I begged him not to hurt me and that I was sorry for hitting him. 'I won't harm you, for you are my mate. You are my only hope of regaining mortality,' he said before biting me on my neck, having me scream in the shock and pain of the bite. I personally thought that I was dead, until I opened my eyes. I looked around, trying to get a sense of where I was and I was scared that I was dead, but then a familiar voice started speaking. "Good, you are up, my mate. Did you sleep well at all?" he asked stroking my face and I backpedaled away from him, bumping into a wall. He came up to me and had both hands on the sides of my head, and his knee in between my legs, he clearly didn't want me going anywhere. "Who are you?! Where did you take me!?" I demanded, going into hysteria. "Shh, I am Thor, and as for where you are, you are safe, safer with me than any other being on this world." He said, nuzzling my neck with his nose and he kissed me where my mark was. Was it a reminder that I was now his, or was it to try and soothe the pain? I didn't know which, but I wasn't ready to find out. "Enough games! Let me go, I won't press charges against you, please!" I said desperately hoping that this crazy person called Thor would at least let me go. I started crying thinking that my friends were dead, but I wasn't going to let it affect me in any way, but Thor somehow wiped my tears from my face gently, and I at first flinched, thinking that he was going to hurt me, but after he was doing this, I chastised myself for being paranoid. I was silently begging for my friends to find me, if they were alive and well.

* * *

Loki POV

I still held my mate's warm, soft body in my arms, threading my fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp, it was glorious indeed. When I saw her on the Poseidon deck, with her eyes on me, I was the one who was mesmerized by her. It took me more than enough strength to not claim her during dinner, but that no longer mattered. She was here with me, breathing in her sleep, I thank the gods that she didn't snore in her sleep, and she was so quiet. I moved my finger down her face, admiring how soft her skin was, and how full her lips looked. I longed to feel those lips against me, covering every inch of my body, but I need to be patient. She knows that I am a merman, so her intelligence was what I admired, when she explained to her friend about our mating season, I wanted to bite her right there. But right now, she was there, and for the first time in so many years, we found our mates, and we would finally grow old, die and have children. I smiled down at her as she was snuggling herself closer to me, as if I was the only one she had left, the only one to love her, care for her. I held her impossibly closer to my chest and sniffed her neck, still having that essence, and kissed her where my mark was, hoping that it would soothe the pain she might have. As she started moving in her sleep, I became more aware that she was starting to wake up, I had a feeling she might go into hysterics, so I must be gentle with her before I would woo her and make her mine, she must know that I _will _be there for her and our children.

Alice POV

The last thing I remembered seeing was the dark haired man pressing kisses to my face, saying that I was his mate and that he would rather be tortured than hurt me, before he bit me. Then the last thing I remembered hearing was hearing Jane scream, thinking that she would be dead, I felt tears coming out of my eyes remembering. Then, I felt fingers wiping my tears away gently, which felt strange. "Shh, what's wrong, my mate, having a nightmare?" a voice gently whispered in my ear, and I felt hands smoothing up and down my back. My eyes popped open to that man, the one who I saw on the Poseidon deck, and dinner. "W-w-w-w-who a-a-are y-y-you?!" I stammered scared out of my wits, trying to get away from him, only to pull me closer to his chest, and something told me to relax, like my brain was telling me to calm the fuck down. "I'm Loki. You don't need to be afraid of me, what's your name?" Loki asked. "Alice Donovan." I said without thinking. "Alice, it means "the truthful one" in Greek. Perfect fit for you, my mate." He said kissing my neck, where I could tell where the mark was, it still hurt, but when he kissed it, it felt like he put ice on it, it was soothing. I desperately wondered if my friends were okay, Pepper, Natasha, Darcy, I wondered if they even were still alive. "Please, let me go, I won't call the police or anything, just please let me go." I begged. Loki looked at me annoyed. "No, I can't. You will stay with me, where you will be safe from harm, my mate, from any threat." He said still smoothing his hands on my back. I felt like I was stuck in a bad dream, except that this was reality, I wasn't still in my stateroom sleeping, I was actually in a strange place with someone who claimed that I was his mate, even though I knew what he was.

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Tony POV

My mate had woken up and the next thing that I knew, she started hitting me like crazy, calling for some other names like "Alice" or some other name and "Where are you?!" I tried to get her calm, but it's as if she's still in shock about me biting her in the casino on the ship. "Calm down, you're safe with me, no one can hurt you." I said trying to soothe her fears of me, not that I can blame her. After all, I did kidnap her and take her to our home, where we would be hidden from the world without people being suspicious about us, along with my other companions and their mates, who I figured were her friends. "I'm not safe around _you, _you kidnapped me and took me somewhere where I can't really go anywhere without you close by!" she said in hysterics. "I know, but I will be there for you, and our children, you just need to trust and love me." I said hoping that she would see reason. "If we have any children, the first thing I'm doing is getting them away from you!" she screamed, still shouting out for her friends to help her. "You don't understand, Pepper, I can't be without you for right now, you are my mate, I have gone on for so long without a mate." I begged, still trying to hold her in my arms, even though she was still fighting me. "You could find someone else, just let me go, please!" she screamed, going into shock. When she slowly lost strength, she collapsed. Her strength was good, that was for sure, and it meant that our kids would be strong.

Pepper POV

I slept in Tony's arms for some majority of the morning, until I woke up again and I didn't feel like struggling again as the words were somewhat starting to sink in, but I wouldn't rest until I knew that everyone was ok. So I got up and started walking around the place, at least hoping to get a sense of where I was, and it was _huge!_ I even looked over me and saw some tubes full of water, and as I was walking, I saw what looked like my friend Alice in the kitchen. I instantly ran up to her, calling her name. "Pepper! I thought you were dead!" she said crying. "I thought you were dead too, oh, god, where the hell are we!?" I asked, afraid that Tony would somehow find me. "I don't know, but I guess we can't really go anywhere." She said. "So, we just live with our kidnappers!?" I said feeling like I was going crazy. "No, but that doesn't mean that we aren't going to be helpless." She said. We turned on the TV. And it was not a pretty thing to have happen: the news was on, and they were talking about our 'disappearance'. "Oh, this is _beyond bad_. SHEILD probably knows that you guys are gone by now, or they must now know after watching the news!" I said. I desperately hoped that someone would find us and get us out of here!

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	3. Chapter 3

**Here's yet another one fresh from the oven, hope that it works for you guys!**

**disclaimer: don't own anyone except OC**

**warnings: Language and violence**

Chapter 3: Through the eye of the storm, you are never alone

Alice POV:

I watched the news, horrified that what happened to us was true, to where tears poured out of my eyes like rain in the night, covering my face. Pepper went on her knees to comfort me. "It's ok, we can get out of this Alice, and we just need to find out if the others are okay. If you're here, then everyone else is here." She said putting my head to her shoulder. It didn't take long for the other women to start pouring downstairs surveying where they were. They saw me crying and when they saw that we were on the news, they knew we had to get out of there while we still could. "How about we sneak out of here when they come back to the ocean, they can only be on land for a few days, and when we 'sleep' tonight, we sneak out of there and find a town to call for help." I said. Jane was a little worried about the plan because she was afraid they might find out we were gone. "How are we going to do that? It's going to be dangerous." She said worriedly. Darcy stepped in the conversation. "Guys, Alice is right, we need to find a way out of here, but like Jane said, it's going to be dangerous trying to let alone even do that." She said, trying to keep her composure. "I don't care; none of us belong here in this _place, _wherever it is!" Natasha shouted. I knew she didn't like where we were. We had to be flawless with the timing; otherwise, I was afraid of what would happen if the mermen found out their mates were gone. I eventually went back to my room, where my 'mate' was waiting for me. "So, how do you like our new home, Alice?" he asked wrapping his arms around me. "It's…different. Different from where I would be in terms of homes." I said, hoping to keep my fear of him out of my voice and not drop any big hints about my escape from this place. "Like good different or bad different?" he asked. "Good different, I guess." I said. He turned my face to look toward his, looking into those piercing green eyes. "Don't be afraid to say anything to me, I won't do anything horrible to you, alright, Alice?" he said assuring me with a peck to my fore head. How was I going to be able to get out of there, when my own mate actually cared about me? I must be careful about how to approach my own escape plan.

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Jane POV:

I went back to Thor's room where he was laying on the bed, reading a book, probably about the things that happened on earth. When he saw me, he lit up like a Christmas tree. "Hello, my mate. I hope that you are comfortable here in this house." He said with slight hope in his eyes. "I am it's just that I never expected to be kidnapped and taken somewhere strange while I was on vacation with my friends." I said, still feeling sad and shocked that it happened. His face changed from one of hope to regret after I said this to him. "I am sorry, but try to understand that I and my companions need to be human again, we're tired of not being able to die. We're tired of not finding our other half to be human again." He said, and I could tell that he was trying to get me to see reason, but I wasn't going to falter on the fact that I wanted _out of this place!_ He got up after marking his place, came up to me and embraced me, trying to calm my nerves even though he was making it worse, but something in my head caused the emotions to leak out, having me feel content and at peace, although I wanted to feel scared, frantic, or even panicked, but my brain wasn't allowing that to happen. Once I and my friends are gone from this place and back to the US, it will be the way it was, peaceful and we choose to live how we want. All we need to do is get out of this place, get to a town and call for help.

Natasha POV:

I was doing some kickboxing when I noticed my 'mate' walk in the gym, wanting to spar with me. So we did this for a while and went back to 'our room' where he went to read a book and I went to shower. "Tasha, do you feel any comfortable here?" Clint asked. "I still feel uneasy about being here just because you _need _to be human again." I sighed. "Look, it wasn't what we wanted, being cursed by Hera, but here we are, and I am tired of being the immortal sea freak who needs the love of a human." He said getting me to see reason. I was aching for the sight of my home, even if it was in the city that never sleeps, my chair, my bed, my bathroom, my crazy neighbors, everything there. Standing between me and my home was a phone call to an embassy or Director Fury for some backup. I could almost taste the sweetness of freedom.

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Third person POV:

After a morning and afternoon of careful, flawless timing of their escape when they would 'sleep', then came the evening, where everything had to be precisely executed, or everything would be lost to the bunch of women wanting to see the sights of home. Eventually, after some time dining with the men, they all went to bed to sleep, at least the men went to sleep, the women were secretly planning their escape without them knowing about it, but there is a catch: what the women don't know is that if a merman's mate is at a good enough distance from him, his beastly side awakens, coming to reclaim its mate. Not even Alice knew about this even after studying the merman species.

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Alice POV:

When I was 'deep in my sleep' I woke up with my regular clothes still on, carefully getting out of the bed without disturbing Loki from his sleep. I snuck out of bed, tiptoeing down the stairs, waiting for the others to get downstairs when the men were deep in their sleep. Natasha went downstairs first meeting me in the living room. "Hey, how long did it take him to sleep?" I whispered. "Maybe a little over 30 minutes, I'm not really sure." She whispered back. Eventually, the rest of us were downstairs dressed and ready to scramble to the nearest town to call for help. "Ok, once we do this, we need to be very careful about not making too much noise when we get away from the house. Watch out for sticks or anything that would make noise." I said as we got to the front door. We opened the door and ran for it, not making any noise, and feeling more invigorated about escaping from the place knowing that we might be home relaxing in our own beds. We got to a faraway enough distance from the place, and we had to be careful about where we were, deciphering friend from foe in unchartered territories.

* * *

Loki POV:

I woke up in my bed, trying to feel for my mate, but noticing that she wasn't there. I looked around the house, frantic about where she was, until I felt my beast awaken after reviewing the security footage and realizing that she and my companion's mates escaped by themselves. I wondered why my mate had been acting strange and I realized that she really wanted to be away from me desperately. My other companions noticed this too, and their beastly sides awakened as well, eyes darkening and changing to that of a snake's. We had to get them back to satisfy our animal instincts and have a way of being human again. I felt my fangs extend and my claws come out of my fingernails, knowing that my inner beast had awakened, wanting its mate back at all costs. We went out the door, following their scent. 'If you thought I would let you get away from me, you have never seen my inner beast.' I thought to myself, following her smell.

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Jane POV:

My friends and I were making good progress on getting to a town to call for help, so far nothing had come to get us, we were determined, but the problem was how long it was going to take before we would find _somebody _to call for help. "How much longer will it take for us to find a town, there's nothing but birds, squirrels, an owl, a wolf howling, it's too quiet out here." I asked. "I have no idea Jane, but we need to keep going by following the trail, I hope to god that it leads somewhere, like a payphone or something." Alice said. "If I see a payphone, I have some quarters and dimes to use to call for help." Pepper said offering her coins. We suddenly heard something that was a crossover between a lion's roar, organ pipes, and loud hissing. "What the _holy fucker _was that!?" Darcy asked scared out of her mind. "That is _not _a normal noise that someone or some_thing_ makes, unless it's a mythological beast." Jane said suddenly getting frantic. We started going a little more faster until we were running like crazy, it felt like we were on the Carnival Pride all over again, except we weren't on a ship, we were on solid ground. We ran faster and faster until the roaring sounded closer than we thought and suddenly, they were in front of us, looking at us like we were snacks. "Oh, great, Now what do we do!?" Natasha yelled, getting into her combat position. Alice looked like she was about to have a stroke, but tried to keep herself calm, the only problem was, if she got extremely stressed out, she gets a very bad panic attack. "Alice, try and calm down, ok, take deep breaths." I said trying to get her breathing under control. She was too scared of them to even think of being calm. "RUN!" Pepper shouted having all of us run in the other direction, but Alice was glued to the spot to move.

* * *

Alice POV:

I had never seen anything so scary in my whole life! Loki at his most animalistic gave me very bad shivers down my spine and I had just remembered leaving my medicine, an inhaler, on the ship, but I had to work on my own, with some professional help, to help me control my breathing enough for me to try and escape, but sheer fear and panic glued me to the spot. Jane was sweet enough to drag me with her to the other direction, remembering that we had to get away, but Loki caught up with me, knocking me down to the ground, winding me out temporarily, but not enough to get up and run. "Jane run! Just get out of here!" I wheezed begging her to go. When she left with the blonde man in pursuit of her, Loki turned me around to look at him, and I wished I remembered my inhaler before we left, because I felt like my lungs were going to bleed from breathing so hard. He looked at me like I was a dessert dish, and then calmed down enough to try and talk to me. "Alice, why did you try to run from me?" he asked. I was trying to say something, but I ended up feeling like I was going to cough up blood from my heart beating too fast and my breathing too fast. He noticed this and tried to have me calm. "Are you an asthmatic?" he asked frightened for me. "No….it…only happens….when I get….very bad….panic…attacks…"I said managing to squeeze out my voice from my vocal cords.

Loki POV:

I had not counted on this happening to my own mate, who gets asthma-related symptoms when she gets too scared. I started rubbing her back gently, trying to help her breathing get back to normal. "It's alright; take slow breaths, inhale and exhale, and take slow breaths, darling…" I cooed, hoping to encourage her to breathe properly. I felt like the biggest idiot and most inconsiderate husband in history for not finding out about this, I would think she would tell me after she warmed up to me, but not like this. "I'm sorry that I ran away, please don't kill me." She said when she somehow managed to get her breathing under control, but still afraid of me. I felt like she speared me when she said that, it went against everything I ever had because of the bond that we share partially. "I won't kill you, if I do, I feel like my soul is gone, and I will be no more than a shell of who I am." I said trying to have her calm.

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Pepper POV:

I ran through the trail like a bat out of hell and I nearly twisted my ankle when I fell down after tripping over a tree root. I got back up and continued running, but Tony caught up to me and knocked me down, facing me with the most terrifying of eyes that I had ever seen in my life. He was calm enough in my presence to try and talk to me. "Pepper, why did you run from me?" he asked. "You kidnapped me, took me to a strange place, and me and Alice found out on the TV that they know we disappeared from the ship. How do you expect me to react, like I have the Stockholm syndrome, like Bella Swan from that movie that I can't stand at all?!" I shouted feeling my face burn from anger. "I know that it's going to be tough living with me, believe me, but I don't _ever _want to endure another mating season without a mate to share my bed with." He said trying to get me to listen to him. It was a bunch of bullshit if I ever heard of it; Tony carried me on his shoulder, more than likely heading back to the house.

Tony POV:

I knew my mate wasn't happy about this happening, but even she should've known that if a merman's mate leaves, his inner beast awakens. I smelled her essence, taking in the aroma therapeutic scent, making my beating heart ease to normality and my inner beast calm, waiting once again to come out and play. She was a fighter, that was for sure, but that didn't mean that I didn't love her, it meant that our kids would be able to survive out in this world.

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Thor POV:

I chased after my mate, she was small, but she was fast, but I was even faster than her. I eventually sprinted towards her and tackled her down to the ground, trying to restrain her. She tried hitting me, but I captured her arms and looked her in the eyes, and she stopped, as if she was afraid of me, of my inner beast. I saw that she was trying to have her friend calm, but her sheer fear wouldn't let her go far away. "Why would you run from me, do you hate me at all?" I asked. "No, not at all, but I don't want to stay there forever just because it's safe." She said trying to reason with me. "I know that it's not at all what you wanted, but give me a chance, and I will make you happy, with every last breath on my body." I pleaded trying to reason with her. I took her in my arms and we headed back home, our home.

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Natasha POV:

When I saw what happened with Alice when she had her panic attack, I thought she was a dead woman. As I kept on running, running more than I ever did in my life, I heard the roar again and knew that it was Clint, and clearly he's not happy that I tried to leave him behind, but I wasn't going to stay with someone who would kill me at any second, whether it would happen or not. I ran until I got to what looked like a huge, rocky wall with no way to climb it. I turned and he was there, getting ready for the kill. "I did tell you that if you left, I get you back, right? Did you think I was kidding when I said that Natasha?" he asked as he approached me, eyes like a snakes and claws that could tear me in half. "No, but I'm not staying and watching my friends suffer like this!" I shouted trying to fight him, but he was stronger than me, but I kept fighting and fighting, until I finally gave up from losing my strength. The last thing I saw before I passed out was Clint rolling his eyes and shaking his head in exasperation.

Clint POV:

I did tell her that if she left I would have to get her back, did I not? She was meant to be my mate; the problem is that she is not accepting me as her future husband. I want to have children before I die, kids that would have our features like her complexity and the color of my hair and all that stuff that would show on children. I just want her to love me, but it's going to be difficult for all of us.

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Third person POV:

They all got back to the house, with Loki getting his mate back to his room, having a fresh new perspective about his mate, knowing that a panic attack would cause her symptoms to erupt, Clint prepping for a morning argument, it would be trifling, but it would be worth it in the end, if they would get there that is.

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**Did i do alright with this?**

**review please! X3**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yet another chapter from the oven! i hope this works well for you guys, so here you go!**

**disclaimer: only own OC, not the avengers and Loki**

**warning: language, triggers for memories of rape and violence**

Chapter 4: The world seems not the same, though I know nothing has changed

Loki POV:

I held my mate in my arms when we got back home after she was calm from her panic/asthma attack. Even though it helped to have known yesterday about that, I still felt like an idiot for not finding out about this, but it didn't matter now, what did matter was that my inner beast had its mate back and everything would be fine now that she was here, throughout that night, she was in shock about what happened, she never counted on seeing my inner beast, even though my beast was screaming for me to take her, but I had to woo her first before taking her. I looked at my mate as she was still sleeping, but not without seeing tears pour out of her eyes, I could tell that she was dreaming of something horrible, so I held her closer to me until I thought that we would be glued together. I decided to take a bath to wash away the stress of that night when my beast awakened to reclaim its mate; I was personally scared that I would hurt her when I got to her by accident, I thought about what she told me about how an overwhelming amount of stress and panic would cause the symptoms to erupt in her and I had to be extremely careful about when I would finally make love with her. I lay in the bathwater feeling some sort of peace when it came to water, even though at the same time it was my curse. I heard the door open and I looked over to see my mate awake, her eyes still puffy from crying and her movements somewhat stiff, and she was quiet, like 'if she said or did the wrong thing, I would kill or hurt her' kind of quiet.

Alice POV:

What happened last night had truly scared me shitless, seeing Loki's animalistic side, staring straight at me as if I was dinner. I was more afraid for the others than myself, but what I saw last night sealed my fate forever; I had no idea that mermen would do that when it came to their mates if they let their beasts come out to reclaim their mates while they still could. That truly sealed my fate the hard way: I can't leave him, and if I do, his inner animal comes out wanting me back while he still could be able. That nearly had me falling to my knees in shock, crying my eyes out, but I would be strong for all of my friends, no matter what would happen. The first time my asthma/panic thing had happened to me, I was in school and I saw a friend of mine being raped by a teacher I once had for social studies, so the panic caused my lungs to close to where I had to be in the hospital for a few hours, but I found out the teacher was caught after literally getting caught with his pants (and underwear) down. After it was all done, the doctor prescribed an inhaler and some therapy sessions to help with my breathing in case I panicked again. I was called to testify in the courtroom and my former teacher was found guilty of raping a minor, and sentenced to prison for a long time with parole possible and he had to register himself as a sex offender, on a high level because she revealed that he did that to her for about 2 years, which made me sick to my stomach. I walked into the bathroom, hoping that no one was there, but when I opened it, I saw Loki taking a bath. "Oh, sorry, I thought no one was in there, I'll leave-" I was saying blushing like crazy. "No, it's alright, I need to show you something, anyway." He said gently. I stayed in the bathroom, kneeling next to him. I heard what sounded like water splashing for a little bit and then water droplets hitting the water. "Look at my legs, Alice." He said. I looked and he no longer had legs, but a fish tail with fins. It was like his eyes, emerald green. I was in shock about seeing his tail. I wanted to touch the fins, but I was nervous. I looked at him and he nodded in consent. I touched his tail, and it felt really weird to me, especially when I touched his fins. The fins were smooth and they seemed to wrap around my hands. He put his tail back in the water, and I looked at Loki with a shocked face. "H-how long have you…been like this?" I asked in utter shock. "Nowadays, I would be like 32 years old, but I am 1049 years old in my real years, it's…been a nightmare being a merman…" he said trying to hold back his tears. I held him in my arms as he broke down crying, I now saw why he _needed _to be human again, it broke my heart seeing why in the form of his tail.

* * *

Darcy POV:

Last night was a complete disaster, not only did they find us, Alice nearly had a stroke right there from panicking so bad! So Fandral caught up with me and I tried to swing a branch in his face, but his animal side obviously knew my movements so he dodged any swing I took at him and I ran for it like hell, hoping not to bump into a cliff and fall off of it, I had too much to live for. The guy caught up with me again and growled at me, obviously pretty angry that I tried to leave him, but I wasn't staying there forever, no sir! I yelled the usual stuff at him and spat in his face, but he bit me on my neck again, in a way reminding me that I was his mate. I woke up and the bastard was sleeping like a baby, while I woke up trying to find something to hit him with, and fast. When I did find another pan, I swung it at his head, but he woke up and dodged it, pinning me to the bed. "Why do you still fight me, Darcy?" he asked. "Why? You kidnapped me and took me somewhere where I don't know and you expect me to love you, just because you want me to be human again!" I shouted thrashing against him, hoping that he would let go of me.

Fandral POV:

Although I can't blame her for hating me, she can't leave me or my beast wakes up needing her back. In my days, I wooed women easily, but this one was a fighting spirit, which might be a reason why my instincts needed me to claim her first. She continued thrashing about in vain, hoping that I might let her go, but I held her firm, but she stopped when I growled at her. "Better, now I know that this wasn't what any of us wanted to happen, but here we are, and we need to make the best of it." I said hoping that she sees reason with my words. She tried struggling but ultimately she gave up again, and I knew that it would be trying and agonizing at the same time trying to get Darcy to love me.

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Betty POV:

Bruce had caught up with me after running on a trail towards somewhere, I had forgotten where I was going, but he caught me and I ended up thrashing in his arms, but his growl warned me to be quiet but I was still scared about what would happen. He was still sleeping when I woke up, so I decided to take a shower to wash my stress and fright away from my body. I was scared for Alice when she was so scared to death, I thought she would get out of there, but something about the way the inner animal was with her mate, she couldn't move, like she was cemented there, even when she tried to get away, he caught her, the last thing I heard her say was for Jane to go on without her. I thought those were her final words before dying. I ran towards a hole and stopped myself before falling in it. I closed my eyes and the last thing I remembered seeing was Bruce lunging for me. When I was out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around me, he was still sleeping, I guess chasing after me and bringing me back 'home' took a toll on him.

Bruce POV:

I was so tired when I finally fell asleep from getting my mate back, but when I woke up, I was at first worried that she was gone again, but I heard the shower running and knew she was in there, washing herself off from the grime and dirt from the night before, so I decided to lay back down and shut my eyes for a little bit. I woke up later on and went downstairs to find Betty sitting on the couch, reading a book. My inner beast was happy that she was back home, where she belonged. I hoped that I would make her happy. She looked up at me and nearly put the book down. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you with your reading." I said leaving the room. "No, it's ok, you can stay Bruce." She said. So I stayed and watched her read, it's the little things I love about her after all.

* * *

Pepper POV:

By now, everyone thought that Alice was dead, the last time we saw her, she was glued to her place on the ground, but when she tried to run, her mate got her, I even heard her yell for Jane to get out of there, I thought that she was dead. As I was running, I could tell Tony was catching up with me, trying to get me back, I felt my ankle was still hurting from when I twisted it but, I don't know if Alice is alright, and everything had gotten so bad within the course of a few days. I woke up and Tony was still holding me tight, and I felt tears come out of my eyes. "What did I do to deserve this god?" I asked hoping in vain for an answer.

Tony POV:

What happened last night, was something my inner animal didn't take kindly to: my mate tried to leave me, along with her friends, and that was a HUGE no-no when it came to the mates of mermen. I guess she didn't know that at the time, but it didn't matter. What did matter was that my beast was calm, resting and waiting for the day it would come out again to play. I know it wasn't easy, but I needed her to understand that I will be there for her, no matter what would happen. My partial bonding with her was something that I would not take lightly, it was something that I needed to be more attentive of, but it was Pepper who I needed to have with me more than anything.

* * *

Thor POV:

My mate was safe with me, now that my inner beast was quiet, waiting to come out again should something happen. I knew she would not like it here at first, but I knew I would make her happy, my beast even knew this, it would take a while, but I wanted her happy, not scared of me. Her body fit perfectly with mine when I held her, as if puzzle pieces had fit together nicely, she smelled good, the fragrance setting me ablaze yet calming me. She woke up, looked at me at first for a few minutes, and then shut her eyes again, nuzzling herself against my chest.

* * *

Clint POV:

I held Natasha still irritated over her leaving me, I knew that she was not happy being here, and I knew she would fight me, but I needed to somehow break her need to fight me, but at the same try to build up her love for me, but something about her would be preventing that sort of thing from happening, perhaps someone tried to kill her once, making her trust no one in the process, but I needed to show her that she wasn't going to be alone, not now, not ever, I needed to show her that she needed someone who cared about her, not someone who would try to hurt her in any way.

Natasha POV:

The last time I ever trusted a man, I found out he worked for someone who wanted me dead, and it nearly got me killed. He used to be part of SHIELD. We did everything together, until we got to Russia, my old homeland, where we were assigned to take down a syndicate, when in fact as soon as we got there, he revealed himself to be part of the syndicate. I wasn't sexually violated, but he tried to kill me, but I took down the syndicate and him, and after it was done, I told SHIELD about this, and they were enraged about this, but was glad that I was alright. That experience taught me something important: be careful of whom you trust or trust no one, whichever one it was, but either way, I still keep that experience with me, to remind me of why I was the way I was with the other agents that SHIELD had, until I saw Alice. I recruited her and something about her told me to trust her, she understood that I was not really trusting a whole lot of people, but when she told me about what happened the first time she had her asthma/panic attack, something also told me to try and look after her, like she was a sister that I _never, ever _had in my life, but she could take care of herself fine. With this Clint guy however, he infuriated me, but I saw bits and pieces of me in his eyes, like a more built and older, yet male, version of me. My mind told me not to trust him, but my heart also said for me to try and love him, I don't know which was right though.

* * *

Third person POV:

Everyone was settled back down eventually after what happened last night when the women tried to get away, with Natasha and Clint arguing in their room, while the others stayed in their rooms resting up for a few more minutes, then going back downstairs. The only people missing however were Loki and Alice. What they didn't know was that Alice was gradually falling in love with Loki, but she had to be careful of how far she was going to go before something would happen to her that would change everything. She also had to keep in mind of her breathing issues before anything would happen.

* * *

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	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for keeping you guys waiting, but another chapter from the oven, hope it's good enough!**

**disclaimer: don't own anyone except oc**

**Enjoy!**

Chapter 5: I need you Aquarius, enchanted I will have to stay

Loki POV:

It somehow felt nice to get my emotions out in the open when it came to my mate, I couldn't blame her when she saw my tail for the first time, and she was shocked but didn't call me a freak or anything like that, so that made my heart fly to cloud nine, whatever that notion meant. Eventually I decided to get out of the tub, so I had her help me out of the tub so I could dry myself off and eventually have my legs back for the time being. "I'm sorry that you've had to go through something like this for so long, having to be in the ocean, forever searching for a mate in order to be human, it's….." she didn't finish as she started crying tears for my pain. I loved that she cared about other people, being sympathetic for them, but I had been used to having the tail for so long, but searching for a mate was always on my mind. I always dreamed about what she would look like, when she would be born, her name, it was exciting for me, but painful knowing I never found her for years, until Alice saw me on the Poseidon deck, mesmerized by my beauty, curious as to why I was there, it felt magical to finally find my mate. I gave her a hug despite still having my tail, soothing her tears. "Shh, it's alright, after we finally consummate our love for one another, if we get there, everything will be fine, I promise." I said when I wiped a tear from her face, which was now inches from mine. I put a finger on her lips; they felt soft to the touch, pink and full, making them kissable.

Alice POV:

As he was smoothing my lips with his finger, I wanted his mouth on mine, maybe it was the fact that I was falling for him, but I didn't care. He put his mouth to mine, and he was gentle with the kiss. He brushed the tip of his tongue on my bottom lip, I couldn't deny him permission. He was quite the lover, exploring my mouth with his tongue, holding my head to his firmly but gently, while my hands held the back of his head to mine, holding him to me. "You are quite a kisser, you know that?"I asked as I smoothed my hand down his back, and when I got further down, I felt his skin, indicating he got his legs back."Only around you Alice, Only around you." He breathed gliding his tongue back in my mouth. We sat on the floor like this for a little bit until we went back downstairs all dressed in casual clothes to check up on everyone.

* * *

Darcy POV:

I and Fandral went back downstairs to sit on the couch, until I looked at Alice and 'her mate'. My eyes were wide open when I saw her, I thought she was dead, I swear to god! "Alice, you're still alive!" I exclaimed surprised. "Yes, well, Loki was a little scared for me, so he helped me calm my breathing, which didn't take as long as I had thought." She said looking at him with I think googly eyes. "Darcy, my love why don't we leave them be for a while?" Fandral asked. I nodded in agreement. I wasn't exactly going to get used to my 'new home', but Alice seemed to handle it fine in a way. I hoped the others were fine though.

Fandral POV:

I knew it wasn't going to be easy for her to be with me, but I needed to show her that he home, wherever it will be was with me. I might be a romantic, but I felt at ease with her. Her wit, the way she would walk, her hair, it got me pleasant feelings that I never thought would happen. I had to be gentle with this one, but it will be worth it in the end, giving herself to me, seeing her come undone, it will be worth it.

* * *

Jane POV:

Thor's beastly side, my GOD, did it scare me! I thought Alice was dead, but I had a feeling that she was alive, but I wouldn't know until I went downstairs. I was maybe curious, but I experimented with kissing Thor to see what would happen, so I put my lips to his, gently kissing them and his nose. He still was asleep; he could sleep long that was for sure. I got up and decided to take a shower, trying to wake myself up. As I was in there, I contemplated the events of last night, and I had no idea that it would happen with mermen, their beasts awakening when their mate gets too far away from them, so that really scared me to bits. I went out of the bathroom with a towel around me and he was _still asleep! _I got dressed, putting on a pair of jeans and a shirt and when I turned around he was behind me with a little smirk on his face. "I felt that little peck to my lips and nose, Jane." He said. I honestly thought that he was still sleeping. "I was awake the whole time, did you think I was really asleep?" he asked walking up to me. I looked down blushing when he said this and he tipped my chin chuckling a little. "I kind of thought that you….I mean that….." I tried telling him but I was breathless by just looking at him, that doesn't happen to me very often at all. He kissed me and I nearly fainted right there. We went back downstairs to see everyone, I was a little surprised that everyone else was around, but I was especially surprised when I saw Alice, alive and well. The guy, who I think is her mate, was just holding her, smoothing his hands up and down her arms on the couch, and then giving her a little peck on the cheek.

* * *

Clint POV:

I was sparring with Natasha, and I could tell that she was still angry about not being able to get away, not only that, but she saw her friend panicking and that apparently wasn't good at all, I thought about how Loki handled it upon finding out, if she told him that is. Nat got a little more aggressive with her movements, until I put her in a hold, hoping to calm her down. "Nat, darling, what's wrong? If it's about not being able to escape—" I was cut off by her tears of anger, punching at my legs. "Nat, look at me." I said. She stopped and looked at me wildly and I could tell immediately that it was about something else, like she was fighting with herself. "Nat, why can't you at least warm up to me, what happened to you?" I asked smoothing my hand on her face, wiping tears away.

Natasha POV:

I didn't know how to tell him about what happened when the man who I thought was my partner betrayed me in Russia, but I would only give him bits and pieces of it all. "Nothing, just that someone who I thought had my back betrayed me in my home country, now let me go, please!" I said begging him to release me. He did but he gave me a hug. "I'm sorry Nat, I didn't know, but I don't want to do whatever that bastard did to you, ever, we're mates, so I can't do any kind of thing to you like betraying you, ok?" he said whispering in my ear. I wanted to kiss him for saying that, but I had to keep my strength up for everyone, Jane, Darcy, even Alice. 'Alice, I hope you are alright, _sestrenka*' _I thought to myself as I hugged him, somehow releasing my anger, but at the same time, keeping it.

* * *

Tony POV:

Pepper and I were still in bed, with me holding her tightly to me, afraid she would leave me, like the other members of my family did when I was a youngster. Ever since then, I had been afraid of abandonment, hoping someone would find me, and cherish me whole, no matter what would happen. I would _never _abandon Pepper, but I hoped she wouldn't abandon me; I woke up feeling tears thinking about the years that people I loved had abandoned me, from the day I walked out into the world to right now. I wiped them as she was still sleeping, she looked so peaceful sleeping, so I kissed her cheek and went to shower, knowing that if I get water on me, my tail comes back, so I would have to be meticulous about the timing before anything should happen, like Pepper walking in on me with my merman tail. But as I was in there, I knew that it had appeared and I knew that she would walk in at any moment and see me and more than likely freak over seeing me with a tail.

Pepper POV:

I woke up hearing what sounded like a shower going off, so I waited until Tony was done with it. After a while, I was afraid something had happened to him in the bathroom, so I went to check up on him. Granted I didn't like that he kidnapped me, but I didn't hate him. I opened the door, hoping that something didn't happen, but what I saw was quite a surprise. "Hey Tony, you Oka—WHAT IS THAT ON YOUR—IS THAT A MERMAN'S TAIL!?" I asked with eyes wide open and jaw dropped. "Yes, Pepper I have had this for ages, its freaky isn't it?" he asked with a more melancholy tone to his voice. "No, it's not freaky at all, I just….I remember Alice telling me about mermen, but I never thought that they would be real, I thought that it was just a twisted scheme to kidnap us for ransom, silly assumption, huh?" I said. He just looked at me like I was crazy at first, but hugged me, despite having his tail. "No, it's not silly at all, I can't blame you for that one, so I hope that someday we might be…warmed up to each other." He said. I secretly hoped so too, but I wasn't so sure, I thought I was getting the Stockholm syndrome as I was with him those days.

* * *

Bruce POV:

As I was watching Betty read those books, watching the expressions that were on her face, it made me laugh, knowing she wasn't afraid to show what she was feeling, but I would have to imagine as a scientist, they can't show much emotion, no matter the circumstance that occurs. "What, what's wrong Bruce?" she asked noticing I was staring at her. "Nothing, it's just…ok it might sound creepy, but I like the expressions that are on your face when you do anything, it shows me you're not afraid to say anything to people, you're not afraid to tell them how you feel, it's nice for me." I said, probably knowing that she thought I was weird. But as I looked at her, she smiled warmly at me. "Bruce, that's not creepy at all, in fact I think it's sweet. I've never had people say that before to me, some of them tell me that I'm doing a good job, telling me to have more of this equation done, blah, blah, blah, so I think it's nice to have people say that to me." she said. It made my heart soar when she said this, and it made me want to say those types of things to her more, saying what a good mother she is, or will be, that I think she has what it takes to change the world in a different way.

* * *

Thor POV:

I went out to the porch and saw Jane sitting on a couch, looking out into the ocean. I imagined that she missed her home, wherever it was. I went up behind her and held her small body from behind, hugging her to me. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked. I sighed, knowing I would need to ask her. "Do you miss your home, wherever it is, family or anyone?" I asked. "I miss my home yes, but I have no family, my parents died in an accident when I was young, leaving me in the care of someone who was an old friend of my father's, he's a good parent, I love him like a father, but I sometimes miss my parents." She said sadly. I felt sorry for her, not having her parents around, not having a mother to nurture you, not having a father to encourage and inspire you, it must have felt insanely painful to not have those things except someone else to take care of you, and sometimes having to rely on yourself. I bent down to kiss her cheek. "Jane, I hope you know that I will be there for you, and our children, wherever we would be, I hope that you know that I won't _ever _leave you behind, no matter what it would take." I vowed with my heart. She turned her head and planted a kiss on the corner of my mouth. "I think you would, but I'm trying to find out where I would fit into all of this, like a puzzle piece trying to search for the perfect spot, but failing all the time." She said. "The only place you fit is in my heart and in my arms, Jane, you don't need to search anymore." I said kissing those full, sinful lips of hers.

* * *

Third person POV:

Everyone was adjusting well, Natasha revealing only a little bit about her betrayal in Russia, Darcy trying to get adjusted to being with Fandral, even though she was stubborn at times. Jane and Alice stayed with their mates, talking to them. Eventually, they were resting the afternoon away in their rooms, waiting for when the evening would come. Pepper and Tony even had started warming up to one another, with Pepper seeing Tony's merman tail for the first time, and not calling him a freak or anything of the sort.

***means "Little sister" in Russian! **

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	6. Chapter 6

**I AM SO SORRY THAT THIS WAS OVERDUE! i went to my friend's graduation ceremony, and some other crap delaying me from making this chapter, so enjoy as an apology gift from me to my readers!**

**poor Natasha, i feel bad for her, don't you?**

Chapter 6: All your lies I'm not believing, heaven shine a light down on me

Darcy POV:

The last time I was with someone, I had no idea he had the craziest double life I had ever heard of, except in 'who the bleep did I marry!?' I guess. What had happened was that while I was in college, I met this, guy, insanely handsome, smart, hilarious as hell, and ambitious! We met while I had been in a college class, political science I think it was, and we were playfully debating on random things, having a ball with it, so we went out for dinner to get to know one another and started dating afterwards. We were going out for maybe a year or two, and graduated, we even moved to a house together, until I had gotten a call from a strange person asking for my boyfriend, so that made me suspicious a LOT! He had gotten the phone from me, and when he hung up, he said it was just a friend of his.

I went to a police database website and found out that my 'wonderful Romeo', was wanted for some credit fraud and even a murder charge, so long story short, I turned him in to the police, since then I had never trusted nor dated other guys. Fandral however, was a different story altogether. He was annoying as hell to me, arrogant, which I despise more than anything else, flirty, seen that in too many people to count, and some other traits, but it will take too long to put down a list for it. We were in 'our room', according to what Mr. Arrogant and super annoying told me, just napping the afternoon away, I was baffled as fuck when I saw Alice getting cozy with her man, not that I could blame her, he was cute! I went to feel for him, but he was nowhere to be found, so against my better judgment, I went to the bathroom to see if anyone was in there, and the weirdest part of it all: he was in the bathtub with what looked like a fishtail.

Fandral POV:

I was taking my soothing bath, letting the water and steam relax me, the one thing on my mind was how do I woo my mate, I knew nothing about her really, all I knew was that she was stubborn and persistent, with a hint of witty, but I would find out as the time would go on by.

"OH MY—IS THAT A-A-A-A F-F-F-FISHT-T-TAIL?!" I hear while trying to relax in the water. I opened my eyes to see my mate look at my tail for the first time while wearing a hilarious expression that made me laugh a little bit.

"Yes, it's my tail, a constant reminder that I was once human, I am much older than you think, my mate." I said with more melancholy than I wanted. "Alice was right, I had no idea…." She began still in shock. She sighed as she began again.

"Look, the only reason I have not exactly warmed up to you is because I dated someone who had a bad criminal record and I didn't know about it. That's why since then I don't trust nor have dated other people since then, ok?" she explained.

I was surprised about what she told me, I would _never _do that sort of thing to her, but I couldn't blame her for what had happened, I courted a woman who turned out to have wanted to kill me by luring me into a trap, perhaps in some way, Darcy and I were the same. I stretched my arms out and although she was hesitant, she approached me, kneeling next to me. I hugged her, holding her tight to my body, though it was soapy and wet, I felt her tense as I held her I wished she was more trusting of me I was her mate after all.

* * *

Natasha POV:

As Clint was holding me tight, I thought about how he reacted when I told him a little bit about why I don't trust people, I would've thought he would say something just to make me mad, but he said to me that he wouldn't and didn't want to betray me in any way just because I was his mate, I find that to be a whole bunch of _fignya!* _I would not be helpless to his charm, no matter what, I just hoped that director Fury would come for us soon, and I didn't want to be stuck in the middle of nowhere forever!

I tried getting out of bed to shower, but his grip was like iron, like he didn't want to let me go, literally and metaphorically. I wondered what happened to make him this way, I was curious about it, but sometimes, curiosity killed the cat, trust me, curiosity got me nearly killed _many times! _I still kept my inner anger in me; I couldn't bring my other feelings out yet, not until I somehow find out a way to get away from there, but not without encountering his inner animal in the process.

Clint POV:

I held her like I would lose her if I let go. The last time I ever loved someone dear to me, I was just going for a swim out at the beach, nothing major, until when I went out of the water, I saw that there was a tail, I had to swim away from the beach, leaving my fiancée behind, never knowing where I was. ever since then, I was desperate for someone to love me for who I was, not what I fucking was or looked like, just someone who sees into my soul, and loves it so well! I hoped that Nat would see inside me and know that I would never hurt or betray her in any way; it will need to take time.

I decided to go take a bath to wash away the stress of sparring before returning to my mate, using some soap of my favorite product, which I will admit was dove. Something about that stuff made my skin newborn baby soft, I loved it. I looked at my legs, and it was a tail, surprise. That tail was a constant reminder of what I became just by taking a swim in the ocean, an innocent act that changed my life forever, but luckily, I would be able to have legs, they just needed to be dry enough in order for that to happen.

I was finished with my bath eventually, walked out of the bathroom with my clothes on, smelling fresh and clean, and back into the bedroom, without Nat still in the bed, that got me suspicious, until I saw the security footage and saw that she bailed yet again, and my inner animal woke up instantly. I jumped out of the window, running towards Nat, who was nowhere to be found, until I saw her running for the nearest town to try and get help, so I jumped her, and she fell down in the process.

"Get off me!" she screamed reaching for something around her leg, but when she got it out, I swatted it away somewhere in the forest, and held her face. She was still struggling to get away, until I growled, making her hush instantly. "Do you hate me, Nat? Or do you hate yourself?" I asked holding her face firmly, forcing her to face mine, she turned her eyes away, darting everywhere. "LOOK AT ME!" I roared and she faced me, looking at my eyes. "I hate…..I don't know, now get off me!" she said grabbing at my wrist. "Nat, why won't you trust me, is it that man, that person who betrayed you?" I asked her as she was still thrashing about. It took her a while, but she was getting tired, her strength was good, she would carry our babies, strong babies at that.

"Yes, it was that man who betrayed me, I hate my life, I hate everything about myself!" she said as tears were coming out of her eyes. "I feel like a monster, I can never be redeemed…..when I was with that guy, I felt like I could be more open with him, but when I found out that he was part of the crime syndicate, I felt shattered….like I would never be put back together again…." She continued with tears staining her cheeks, sobs that she tried to hold back, but failing at doing.

I held her tight to me, wishing I would take the pain away from her, help put her back together. "Nat, you are not a monster, I know you may deny it now, but you aren't a monster…..you are just someone who wants what she can never have again.

* * *

Loki POV:

We slept most of the afternoon away, with Alice playing with my fingers and my hair, while I held her nice and tight, but not too tight. I woke first to find her still there, her ear where my heart was, her hand on my stomach, smoothing over it, tickling me without even realizing it.

By the gods above she was a kisser, better than I ever expected, I remembered when I was young that a young woman, maybe about my age was to give her maidenhead to me when we would be married, the only problem being that she was much, much too full of hatred at the idea of being married to someone who was part of a noble house just because we were arrogant, I tried being more of a different man than others she had obviously been promised to, but she wouldn't listen, but that had been then, this was now.

I turned to my side, holding her close to where she was now playing with the hair on my chest, which I found endearing yet strange. I threaded my fingers in my mate's hair, lovingly mussing it all up, feeling silky, soft satiny locks of her hair, smelling that scent that I found incredibly arousing, yet so sweet and soothing to my senses. I pressed a kiss to her forehead gently, which somehow in the process woke her up.

"What time is it?" she asked trying to get up. "It's still in the middle of noon, my sweet." I said pulling her back down. She snuggled further to me, making little moaning sounds and I thought I heard some cooing out of her. "Do you always make much noise getting ready to sleep?" I ask while laughing a little as she drew the covers back on us. She blushed in admittance, pursing her lips and looking away. "I do that sometimes, but hey, I'm getting old, and despite being nearly 1050 years old, you're still hot!" she said her face nearly red, causing me to giggle a little at her inner silliness. I felt happy and at ease with her, she was a little shy, yet somewhere along the lines of outgoing.

Alice POV:

I was lying on the bed with him, feeling smooth, yet cold skin on him, and somehow feeling happier than I ever had been in my life. It felt nice to have someone who cared about me holding me tight, I never quite felt more at ease with him; I think it might be the Stockholm syndrome thing that occurred with kidnapping, I knew Natasha was not happy about being here with us, feeling lost and alone. When I first met Natasha, at first she seemed more reserved towards people, but when I got to know her, I knew the reason that she was reserved was because she once worked with someone who turned out to have been part of a crime syndicate that SHEILD had been hunting down, and he had been their spy to get their slimy hands on SHEILD's secrets, Natasha killed him, but ever since then she was uneasy about trusting people, I wondered how her mate was going to handle that big piece of baggage.

I decided to take a little shower to clean myself up from the events of the morning, which consisted of me seeing Loki's merman tail, and even kissing him the first time, he was a great kisser, gentle and sweet with a hint of passionate and demanding. I wondered what his life had been like before what happened to him to get his tail and stay forever in the water looking for a mate. Was he a warrior, a king, or even a farmer before he went to the water and had his tail. I went back outside to find him staring at the ceiling, probably lost in thought. I heard some racket going on from downstairs and realized that it was Natasha still having serious issues with her mate, I felt bad for her though, seeing her so conflicted ever since the events that happened within the past few days. "Worry not about the others for once, my sweet. They have their own problems to sort out, just like we kind of sorted out ours, I'm sorry I had no idea of your 'lung issues', I would've thought you'd tell me about it, but not like what happened last night." Loki said facing me from the bed.

"I know, but I don't like seeing the ones I know suffer from what happened the past few days." I said laying back down on the bed. I at least hoped they would be alright without worrying about me for once, although I found it to be nice for me, knowing they cared about me.

* * *

Pepper POV:

I wondered about what happened to Tony that caused him to have the fishtail, proving to me indeed that he was indeed a merman. At least I now know it wasn't a crazy scheme to get money, I have to stop watching those movies though; it was kind of a relief in an odd way of speaking. I helped him out of the bathroom, hoping he would have his legs back, I didn't think he was a freak at all, I thought he was just a misunderstood creature who just needed to be loved, just my thinking. I wondered about whether or not he had some very serious issues with abandonment or something as I was drying off his tail, hoping he would have his legs back if they were dry enough. "So, Pepper, do you like reading?" he asked while he was getting up. I had to be careful about not looking at a certain area, while getting some clothes for him to wear. "Yeah, I read sometimes, some of them are funny, insane, in other words I have a mixture of tastes in books." I said grabbing a pair of boxers, a shirt and some pants for him to wear. After he was dressed, I decided to pull out a book from somewhere in his room, this time it had something to do with physics. I wondered if he maybe was a scholar before the things that happened with him having a tail in the water.

After a while, I decided to ask Tony about what happened in his past life before the things that happened involving having his merman tail and having to be in the water for so long. "Tony, I have a question for you, what happened that caused you to….be this way for so long?" I asked hoping to understand him somehow; I wondered if it was the Stockholm syndrome thing that may have happened with me being with him for a few days. "I would tell you, but it's painful for me to say anything about my life before this curse happened with me." He said with a melancholy twinge to it. "It's ok, I am your mate remember?" I said reminding him, although I was cringing when I mentioned about me being his mate a little.

Tony POV:

I knew I would have to tell her about my childhood and other aspects of my life before all of what happened to me that involved turning into a merman. I mentioned my childhood, which consisted of learning the average things like math, reading, and even studying some of the histories of the world, seeing different people walking around the marketplace, getting to my teenage days, consisting of the usual amounts of high expectations of being a scholar or even a sculptor. I lived during the 15th century; my parents were sometimes bickering over the usual stuff, before my father abandoned us completely at 13, when at a time, my sister had died from a fever caused by a cut. I had been through a lot in the past few years after that, my mother dying from disease, and I even remembered meeting some historical figures, I remember Leonardo Da Vinci well, I remember him telling me about the many things he invented, he even showed me the Mona Lisa painting he did that was very famous even to this day. What happened to me that caused that tail to appear on my legs, well I was taking a little swim in the Mediterranean, and when I looked down at my legs, I could see what looked like a tail and I knew I had to get away from there, abandoning those I cared about, forever.

I finished telling Pepper my story and I noticed her eyes were red and puffy, knowing that she was crying. "That's a sad story, all this time, suffering from those losses, having to abandon those you loved because of a merman's tail appearing on your legs, it had to have been indescribable, knowing that you had lost everything." She said wiping her eyes with her wrist. I went up to her after getting my clothes on and held her close, soothing her tears, smoothing my hand up and down her back. "At least now, with you around Pepper, I won't lose everything. Sure back then it was a trying time, but nowadays, I feel…happy….happy for the first time in centuries." I said still smoothing my hand down her back.

* * *

Thor POV:

After my conversation with my mate on the porch, we slept throughout most of the afternoon, with Jane smoothing her hands up and down my back, feeling my muscles, while my arms were around her, holding her close like I would lose her if I let go. I thought about what she told me about losing her parents and having a foster father or guardian take care of her, teaching her right from wrong, giving her life lessons, I would make sure to thank whoever it was for raising her to be the woman she is today. As I contemplated those thoughts, I noticed her nuzzling her nose against where my heart was, which was beating only for her, no other woman made me feel this way, not even in my days as a Viking warrior, it was a scary feeling, yet it was pleasant and exciting. I remembered what happened prior to having my tail as if it happened to me yesterday: I was trying to prove to a fair maiden that I could swim far into the ocean and back fast, but as I had swam faster, it wasn't until she screamed that I looked at my legs and realized that I had a merman's tail, so I swam back and never looked over my shoulder, I never went back to my home ever again. It was devastating to me, all because of a swim to prove my feat that I was strong, and ending up changing me in the process forever, it was horrifying. I felt like a freak all those years, but I had been thankful I wasn't the only one who had those problems with living with a merman's tail forever, Loki, Tony, Bruce….it had been a blessing finding them who were like me.

I then noticed her smoothing her hands up and down my sides, while still sleeping, and something a little unexpected happened: she planted a little kiss on my heart, causing a wide smile to break free as if I held it back for so long. I wondered if she did it while awake or while still asleep. I meant every word I said to her about her fitting into my heart and arms perfectly like a puzzle piece. I knew eventually she had to see my constant reminder of my curse: my merman's tail, by the gods it was still a devastating reminder of what I became due to my bragging and constant arrogance, to this day, I blame myself for what happened to me, but I had to move on from that.

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Bruce POV:

We slept through the afternoon, I thought about what other books my mate liked to read because I adored the expressions on her face when she would read them, I wondered if she liked those cheesy romance novels or some suspense, some of the many genres of books that were out there. I held her to me; her back against my chest, fingers splayed the pillow, hair in all directions, looking like silk, feeling tempted to touch them. I noticed that Loki's mate was warming up to him, even kissing him, along with Thor's mate as well, but Clint's and Fandral's mates weren't exactly warming up to them either, making it a big challenge for them.

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	7. Chapter 7

**Another chapter, sorry it's late though! anyways, Natasha sees Clint's merman tail, and her reaction is anything but pretty!**

**warning: trigger for mental meltdown, language**

**enjoy! **

Chapter 7: It's in your eyes, what's on your mind?

Clint POV:

I knew Natasha was somehow broken, but not to where she called herself an irredeemable monster, so that made me sad to be honest. I didn't want my mate to be feeling nothing else but happiness and even desire, but it was going to take time for her to somehow warm up to me, the one thing that would need to happen is her seeing my merman tail, good Christ it was not going to be pretty seeing her reaction to it, but in order for her to somehow warm up to me, she had to know at least _that part _of me, the part that haunted me for so long, it was like a parasite that couldn't go away for what it had been worth. But, how would I show her without any hostility coming between both of us when she sees it, will she be greatly frightened or a different feeling would come, it was tricky, but I needed to do this, one way or the other. I went to our bathroom to release the stress of having my beast come out again to retrieve Natasha, I wondered if she would know eventually that her place was by my side, she was pretty stubborn, too stubborn for her own good. I wasn't surprised to find out that my tail was there, so I closed my eyes, trying to relax the effects of my inner beast off, allowing it to rest until she would run again.

Natasha POV:

Goddamn it, I failed again at getting away from Clint! Why can't I ever go back to the life I had, the life that I knew so well!? I was crying, knowing that the life I knew was that of a killer, a monster that can never truly have forgiveness and love when it's needed most, I knew love was for children, a stupid game where everyone loses at some point….I wondered how Alice was doing, I was so worried about her, if I somehow found out that her 'mate' was hurting her in any way, I would make sure he begged for death by the time I would be done with him! I went to the bathroom to clean my face, washing away the sadness, the pain, vainly knowing that it will _never go away, _my ledger was red as a rose and although I wanted it wiped out, it can never truly be wiped away from me, the horrors would stay with me forever, never truly leaving.

As I opened the door, I saw a sight that shocked me beyond belief: Clint in a bathtub, with what looked like a silver merman's tail, lounging about, probably washing away the effects of the inner animal in him. "OH, MY GOD! YOU HAVE A MERMAN'S TAIL, SHE WAS RIGHT!" I screamed out, truly in shock about the truth of mythical creatures existing within this world. Clint woke up, seeing me fall to my knees, finally thinking I lost my mind. "Tasha, come here, it's ok….I won't hurt you, it's ok." He said trying to get me to come to him. My mind was shattered, at that point I just went to him blindly, not thinking about what I was doing. When I got there by his side, he held me tight, yet not squeezing me too hard, I just cried into the crook of his neck, feeling shattered yet again, feeling vulnerable….I hated it when I had that feeling would come sneaking up on me, it got people I loved either hurt or killed. I wondered what would've happened had I not stepped in the red room, would I have been different then? I wouldn't ever know, not if I went back in time and changed it.

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Alice POV:

I was in our room, reading a paranormal romance novel about soul mates coming together through spells, imprinting or even sexual intercourse with them, for me the way I was taken was that my 'mate' bit me on the neck while I was on vacation, I still had yet to find out how Loki was turned into a merman back in his days, but didn't know how to ask him. I went up to 'our bed', where he was napping a little, with no shirt on and lightly ran my fingers down his body, feeling some muscle underneath his warm, smooth skin, smoothing my hand over his abs, although they weren't really defined, I knew they were there, going up to his pecs and feeling the fine, soft black hair that was there and going up to his face, smoothing my finger over his soft, pink lips. He was a beautiful man, the kind where girls would go nuts over him, no matter who, the kind where many would swoon over him; his voice was like silky smooth chocolate with caramel, causing a delightful shiver and gasp to come out of me.

As I was getting back to my chair, Loki captured my hand and held it to where his heart was, willing me to feel his heartbeat while waking up. "Hello, Alice." He said pulling me down while sitting up to where I was straddling him. He had his hands on my back, holding me to him while I was touching his face, memorizing every curve on his face. "Hey, Loki." I said kissing the tip of his nose. He held my head to his and kissed me on the lips, sweet and tender, and passionate once he had his tongue in my mouth, exploring it like it was his first time, laying me down on the bed so that he was on top of me, running his hands over my body.

After a while, we were lying on the bed, facing each other, fingers intertwined and sweet whispers being heard quietly while I worked on how to ask him about what happened prior to him being a merman. "Loki, what happened before you were a merman?" I asked hoping I didn't sound like an idiot. "Well….before the 'change' happened with me, I was a prince, my father was Laufey, and I had many women in my room every night, whores would throw themselves at me, while the virgins would try and woo me, but I was supposed to be married to one, but she refused to give her maidenhead to me….you see, my family was more arrogant and proud of what we were, but I was trying to be more different than my brothers and family.

One day, it was spring and the woman I would've married said that in order for me to have her hand in marriage, I was supposed to go into the ocean and find a fabled treasure for her….back then, no one could be able to get it, most would give up, others would drown trying to get to it, but for me, I went in there and got it for my betrothed, and surprisingly…I was quick for my first time going that deep, until I looked at my legs and saw a merman's tail….I took the treasure and swam away from my homeland as far as I could, I felt like I shamed my family by running away…" I was smoothing my hand up and down his back as he was telling me this. "I then realized after being away from my homeland for so many years that I didn't shame my family, because I hated them for their sheer arrogance and pride, I ran away to build my own pathway, what I wanted to do in life, you know? I never knew what I was supposed to do to break this curse of being a merman…until I had a dream one night, and someone spoke to me saying that 'I needed to find my heart's desire, my other half, my mate….and the only way I would find her was by her scent.' Years had passed by and I wasn't able to find my mate, until those weeks or days ago, when you saw me on the Poseidon deck on the ship." He finished probably feeling like a weight was lifted from him by telling me this.

Loki POV:

It felt indescribable telling Alice this, like something was lifted from me, released from me…it's probably the bond we have with each other. "That is so sad that this happened to you….all of that just to prove to a selfish and proud bitch, pardon my language, that you would marry her, be somewhat different from them." She said while I smiled a little. Now that I thought about it, that woman was proud and selfish, and most certainly a bitch. "It matters not now, what does matter most is that you are here, and I can finally be human again instead of a cursed creature forever condemned to the seas." I say smoothing my hand over her stomach, which I hoped would have our child, growing in her womb, listening to our conversations, and even knowing how much I love his/her mother. I heard her laugh a little, causing me to perk my head up to find out what's with her. "What's so funny, my mate?" I asked curious. "Growing up, when my mom was pregnant with my sister, my dad would always kiss and speak to the baby in her belly, while I would watch happily, we were all happy when she was born, but when she turned 5, we discovered that she was diagnosed with leukemia, and it was a very bad one to where it obliterated her lungs, she couldn't eat, she kept having infections, and she had some weakness in her muscles. Even though we were doing the treatments, she didn't survive; we were so devastated that it happened, that they decided not to have any more children." She said, crying as she remembered what happened. I held her tightly, comforting her as she cried into my neck, I didn't care that my shoulder would be wet at all, and it didn't matter to me whatsoever, for I cared about her.

After a while, we decided to head downstairs to check up on the others, who seemed to do very well, Tony held his mate close to him, nuzzling her neck, Fandral's mate was trying to get him away from her, not that it surprised me a bit. Thor and his mate were sitting on the couch, watching some television, the only ones who were missing were Bruce, Clint and their mates, and I wondered how they were doing thus far. As for myself and Alice, I would say we were progressing well, telling each other of our childhoods, and I even telling her about how I became a merman, it felt nice, peaceful even with her around more than anyone, except maybe my mother, may she rest in peace.

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Third person POV:

The rest of the partially mated pairs ate at the table, eating their dinner, talking and getting acquainted with one another, and finally, Clint and Natasha showed up, with Clint looking somewhat apprehensive and Natasha pale as a bed sheet, producing worried looks from everyone. After some talking with some people, Alice came to the conclusion that Natasha had seen Clint's merman tail and freaked out silly over seeing something that made her slightly crazy, confirming that some mythological creatures were real. When she told Natasha that she saw Loki's tail after they all got back from their first escape attempt, Natasha did feel better but was still wary about the rest of them, but willing to be somewhat calm about our situation. After it was all done, they were tired and decided to rest up for another day.

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Pepper POV:

I had never seen Alice look happier than when I first saw her those few years back, I finally got acquainted with her 'mate', and he seemed to be perfect for her, I saw that with everyone else's 'mates', except for Darcy who looked somewhat wary of him still, she _hated _men who were arrogant, we all knew this very well when she told us about the last time she was with a man, I couldn't blame her for not knowing about it, but for her it was like she should've seen something, a sign that said 'Something's off about this dude, get away from him!' but, she was with him still until she had the phone call from the weird person. I woke up the next morning and knew that Tony was still holding me tight, but not too tight, he did have a tendency to be arrogant and self-centered, but I guess they were his 'coping mechanisms' for those years of being a merman, having to search for his other half, his mate, for all eternity. I turned in his arms, and I don't know why I did this, but I kissed him on his nose, just as a little thing to test to see if he would wake up, he didn't so that meant that he could sleep like a baby, that's for sure! I decided to wash up for a little bit, getting ready for another day. I felt bad for Natasha, she looked like she had murdered her closest friend when she came to the table, and her 'mate' was somewhat apprehensive about her well-being, Alice and I knew why she had this reaction on her face, all her life she didn't believe that mythological creatures or anything out of the ordinary existed, but seeing the reality of it was probably too much for her.

I went out of the bathroom dressed and ready, when I turned around, there was Tony with a smirk on his face and one eyebrow cocked up. "I felt that kiss, miss Pepper Potts." He said pointing to where I kissed him, producing a blush that went to my face. "Uhh….I didn't mean to do that, I was just wanting to find out if you were still sleeping, t-t-that's all." I said nervously. He just walked towards me, wrapping his arms around me, pulling me to him and started out with kissing my forehead, trailing down to my lips, where his tongue brushed my bottom lip wanting entrance, I complied, and my _god could he kiss! _After we came up for breath, we went downstairs to survey the ocean, bask in its beauty, it looked peaceful.

Tony POV:

It felt indescribable kissing Pepper for the first time, it was like something that felt perfect, like a sneaker that fits perfectly, not too tight, not too loose either, just…..perfect. I could tell that Loki was happy with his mate; I didn't see him smile in a long time, never. I think Thor had seen him smile once, but I wasn't that sure about it, might have to ask him later, Fandral was still having slight issues with his mate, but probably the real challenge was Clint's mate, she looked to be stubborn and strong, but now she looked broken, shattered…..how he would handle this, I don't know, but it might take a long time.

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Thor POV:

I was behind Jane as we were in bed, she was reading something while I was pressing some kisses on her shoulder and neck, producing shivers that ran down her spine, it made me wild seeing her react to the things I would do. I had my arms wrapped around her from behind, savoring the feel of her small, soft body against mine, it was a snug fit, like puzzle pieces fitting together perfectly, her place was with me, with my heart, where she would be safe from any threat the world would throw at us. I listened intently while she would tell me the things that were in that book, taking in her expressions, so enthusiastic and passionate about what she loved, she told me about the stars, how unique and beautiful they were how they decorated the sky, like little diamonds in the sky.

Jane POV:

I thought that Thor was getting bored with what I was telling him, but it was as if he wanted to listen to me talk, like he loved it when I was passionate about the stars. It was unusual for me because whenever I would be passionate about something, people would either ignore me, or think that I was nuts altogether with that particular thing I loved so well, whenever I would be stressed, I would go outside and just watch the sky, seeing the little stars. "I never met someone who was interested in what I would be saying, to be honest." I said watching his expressions. "Darling, you have every right to be passionate about what you love, what you feel you want or need to do, when I was young, I would watch the stars, and pretend that someone was watching over me, so you're not the only one, dearest Jane." He said grinning. I blushed looking down at my lap, but he tipped my head up with his finger and kissed me, his lips were soft, sweet and tender, yet demanding and somewhat possessive. I marked my place and held his hands, which were still wrapped around my waist, while he was whispering some sweet nothings, causing some blushes and giggles to come out of me. I started falling for him, my golden prince, my lover, my everything….I just wasn't that sure of it yet.

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Bruce POV:

Betty had yet to see my merman tail, but I wasn't that sure of how she would react to seeing the reason, the constant reminder of how and why I was condemned to the seas, roaming around searching for my other half, but now, everything was changing, really changing. I was lying on the bed, letting my thoughts get lost in my head for a few hours. After a while, Betty came in and sat in the chair with another book, this time a mystery novel, it was an interesting one that she had indeed….full of intrigue, laughs and murder….for some it would be abnormal, but I didn't care, we all have different tastes in books and movies.

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